How To Prepare for Thanksgiving

This is the last week before Thanksgiving. Where has the time gone this year? I am amazed at how fast time flies past and before your know it, the next year starts. With this in mind, how can you help slow things down over the holidays, specifically Thanksgiving.

Take time for yourself (if you have a spouse take some alone time with them) (during the holiday that you are given). Throughout the year you give so much out, that eventually you will have nothing left to give. Spend some time relaxing and charging your own battery

Spend (Quality) time with your children. Turn off all cell phones and devices. Teach them a game, (checkers, chess, monopoly, Settlers of Cataan, phase 10, guesstures, parcheese, bridge, Quelf-so much fun, cranium). Be willing to try something new and that gets all of you outside of your box like quelf. Maybe even go to the store and pick something new out to play. Or find a puzzle to put together. Make some memories playing them. They will remember that far more than if they are playing video games all day.

Bake something together. This would be a great time to teach your boys and girls how to make apple pies (with Rhubarb is my favorite), make cakes, and make some cookies together. Let them help with Thanksgiving preparations even if it means that some cookies get burned in the process. You never know if you have a chef in your midst.

Spend time working on a project with them from cleaning the house to doing outside chores. They might moan and complain but you will teach them work ethic. The key is to not overwork them, they are off on break too. Have fun together:

start a pillow fight while cleaning the guest bedroom,

play games while working,

listen to Adventures in Odyssey or an audio book while working on a project together,

talk,

ask funny random questions,

ask would you rather questions. The key is to make it fun, again you are making a memory together.

Pick a holiday movie to watch together as a family (Make them watch the whole movie). Some ideas: It’s a Wonderful life, It Happened on 5th Avenue (my favorite), The Santa Clause, White Christmas, The Grinch, Elf, The Nativity Story etc… Save some movies to watch during December and Christmas.

Take time to talk about Thanksgiving. Look up the original story of the this day and discuss it. Go around your family and talk about what you are thankful for. Spend sometime thanking God for all that He has done for you this year. We all have so much to be thankful for this year.

Start thinking and planning ahead. May this be a GREAT Thanksgiving for you as you and your family create new memories together.